Tag Archives: mortgage interest rates

On the heels of the 10Y treasury yield breaking out of its recent range to its highest since July 2011, this morning’s mortgage applications data shows directly how Bill Gross may be right that the economy may not be able to handle The Fed’s ongoing actions.

As Wolf Richter notes,the 10-year yield functions as benchmark for the mortgage market, and when it moves, mortgage rates move. And today’s surge of the 10-year yield meaningfully past 3% had consequences in the mortgage markets, asMortgage News Dailyexplained:

Mortgage rates spiked in a big way today, bringing some lenders to the highest levels in nearly 7 years (you’d need to go back to July 2011 to see worse). That heavy-hitting headline is largely due to the fact that rates were already fairly close to 7-year highs, although today did cover quite a bit more distance than other recent “bad days.”

The “most prevalent rates” for 30-year fixed rate mortgages today were between 4.75% and 4.875%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

The big difference between 2010 and now, and between 2008 and now, is that home prices have skyrocketed since then in many markets – by over 50% in some markets, such as Denver, Dallas, or the five-county San Francisco Bay Area, for example, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. In other markets, increases have been in the 25% to 40% range. This worked because mortgage rates zigzagged lower over those years, thus keeping mortgage payments on these higher priced homes within reach for enough people. But that ride is ending.

And as Peter Reagan writes at Birch Group, granted, even if rates go up over 6%, it won’t be close to rates in the 1980’s (when some mortgage rates soared over 12%). But this time, rising rates are being coupled with record-high home prices that, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, show no signsof reversing (seechartbelow).

So you have fast-rising mortgage rates and soaring home prices. What else is there?

It’s not just home refinancing demand that is collapsing… as we noted yesterday,loan demand is tumbling everywhere, despite easing standards…

The United States of America, 2047: The population bumps up against 400 million people, with a full 22 percent of folks aged 65 and older — or 85.8 million seniors. The national debt rises so high that the country spends more money on interest payments than all of its discretionary programs combined, a scenario that’s never been seen in a half-century of tracking such metrics. And that’s all assuming that elected officials even find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare funded at their current levels.

This stark vision comes courtesy of the Congressional Budget Office and its most recent Long-Term Budget Outlook. The nonpartisan CBO looks into its crystal ball and predicts the economic picture for the next 30 years, and the results could prove fascinating for folks who work in financial planning and lending — or, perhaps, send them screaming into the night.

Interest Rates Creep Higher, But Not Historically So

For instance, the CBO joins the chorus of other financial analysts by projecting steady increases in interest rates over the coming decades as the economy improves and the Federal Reserve moves away from the historically low federal funds rates instituted during the depths of the Great Recession. But mirroring the attitudes of many in the reverse mortgage industry after the Fed last hiked its interest rate target back in March, the office also puts these trends in the larger context of recent history,

“CBO anticipates that interest rates will rise as the economy grows but will still be lower than the average of the past few decades,” the report notes. “Over the long term, interest rates are projected to be consistent with factors such as labor force growth, productivity growth, the demand for investment, and federal deficit.”

As RMD reported at the time, rising interest rates have diverse effects on Home Equity Conversion Mortgage originators and lenders, potentially hampering needs-based borrowers with lower principal limits, but also providing opportunities to market the growing HECM line of credit and strengthening the HECM-backed securities market.

Though the CBO doesn’t address specific numbers for federal funds rate targets, the office offers projections for the interest rate on 10-year Treasury notes, predicting a rise from 2.1% at the end of last year to 3.6% in 2027 and 4.7% in 2047. That’s still a percentage point below the average of 5.8% recorded between 1990 and 2007, a period that the CBO notes was free of major fiscal crises or spikes in inflation.

The current federal funds rate target of 0.75% to 1% still falls on the historically low side of the spectrum; prior to the economic collapse in the late 2000s, the number sat at 5.25%, and it climbed as 20% during the inflationary malaise days of the Carter and early Reagan administrations.

Rising interest rates could spell bad news for the federal government, however, as they also determine the amount of money that Uncle Sam must pay on his debts. According to the CBO’s estimates, the amount of federal debt held by the public will balloon to 150% of the gross domestic product, up from 77% now — reaching figures never seen in the history of the United States. For reference, the national debt has only ever exceeded GDP during and after World War II, when the government embarked on an unprecedented defense spending spree.

A Changing Population

In the CBO’s estimate, a variety of factors will conspire to expand the American population to about 390 million as compared to around 320 million today — while simultaneously making it grayer.

The net immigration rate, which balances out the amount of people leaving and entering the U.S., is expected to rise ever-so-slightly from 3.2 per 1,000 in 2017 to 3.3 per 1,000 in 2047, while the fertility rate for folks already in America will sit at an average of 1.9 births per woman for the next 30 years, down from the pre-recession level of 2.1.

Couple that with declines in mortality rates and gains in life expectancy, and you’ve got the recipe for an older America: A baby born in 2047 can expect to live an average of 82.8 years according to the CBO’s estimates, compared with 79.2 for children born this year. And good news for readers born in 1982: You can expect an average of 21.5 more years on this mortal coil once you turn 65 in 2047, as compared to 19.4 more years for those celebrating their 65th birthdays by the end of 2017.

The Takeaway

Interestingly, the CBO notes that it bases its entire report on the assumption that the two key pillars of Social Security and Medicare will remain funded “even if their trust funds are exhausted” — a formidable “if” given political realities and the general pitfalls of making assumptions about the future of government from 30 years out.

As Jamie Hopkins, an associate professor of taxation at the American College of Financial Services, recently told a HECM industry event, Social Security and Medicare will remain funded through 2034, and any attempts to make unpopular decisions that could benefit their long-term health — such as raising the retirement age — would spell political disaster for those who attempt a change.

Perhaps none of this comes as a surprise to originators, lenders, and others who work in the reverse mortgage space: Americans as a unit are getting older, the economic outlook remains uncertain, and no one’s really sure what’s going to become of the social safety net. Meanwhile, down on the micro level, this growing crop of seniors will need to figure out ways to remain comfortable and safe in their retirement years.

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Summary

✖ Janet Yellen is kicking around the idea of backing off of the Fed’s 2% inflation target.

✖ If the Fed lets the economy run hot, the yield curve will steepen.

✖ Equities should rally.

✖ Gold looks vulnerable with real yields still too low.

Janet Yellen, in a speech on Friday mentioned that the Fed could choose to allow the U.S. economy to “run hot” to allow for an increase in the labor participation rate. In typical Fed fashion, the goalposts are being moved once again, and the implication for the yield curve is important.

“Another scenario, one which Holbrook recognizes but does not represent our base forecast, is that the Federal Reserve will continue to drag its feet and not respond to accelerated wage gains. In this environment, longer-term yields will rise as inflationary expectations rebound. Larry Summers, among others, has recently advocated for such Fed policy, calling for them to increase their inflation targets. If this materializes, short-term rates will remain low, and the yield curve will steepen.” – July 1st, 2016

Janet Yellen’s comments on Friday indicate that this scenario is increasingly likely. It seems that the Federal Reserve, rather than taking a proactive stance against inflation as it has done in the past, it is going to be reactionary. If this is the case, investors can shift their attention from leading indicators like unemployment claims and wage growth, and instead focus on lagging indicators like PPI and CPI when assessing future Fed action.

The fixed income market is still pricing in a 65% likelihood of a rate hike in December, and given the abundance of dissenters at the September meeting, as well as recent remarks from Stanley Fischer, we expect the Fed to raise in December. After which, we presume the Federal Reserve will declare all meetings live and “data-dependent.” We expect that the Federal Reserve will NOT raise rates again until the core PCE deflator (their preferred measure) breaches 2%.

If they do choose to let the economy “run hot,” the market will need to figure out what level of inflation the Federal Reserve considers to be “hot.” Is it 2.5%? Is it 3%? At what level does the labor participation rate need to reach for further Fed normalization?

These questions will be answered in time as investors parse through the litany of Fed commentary over the next couple of months. In any case, a shift in the Fed mandate is gaining traction. Rather than fighting inflation, the Federal Reserve is now fighting the low labor participation rate. Holbrook expects such a policy to manifest itself in the following manner:

Steepening yield curve

Weakening dollar

Further commodity appreciation

In terms of the equity markets, we expect the broad market to rally into year-end after the election – whatever the outcome. Bearish sentiment is still pervasive, and Fed inaction in the face of higher inflation should be welcomed by equity investors, at least in the short run. Holbrook is also cautious regarding gold. Gold is often described as an inflation hedge. However, this is incorrect. It is a real rate hedge. As real rates move lower, gold moves higher, and vice versa. With real rates at historical lows, we think there could be further weakness in the yellow metal.

The fixed income market is in the early stages of pricing in a “run-hot” economy. The spread between the yield on the thirty-year bond (most sensitive to changes in inflation) and the two-year bill (sensitive to Fed action) is testing its five-year downtrend. A successful breach indicates that the market has changed. The Federal Reserve is willing to keep rates low, or inflation is on the horizon, or both.

Holbrook’s research shows that during the current bull market, a bear steepening trade (long yields rise more than short-term yields) has implied solid market returns. The S&P 500 advances an average of 2% monthly in this environment. This environment is second only to a bull steepening trade (where short-term rates fall faster than long-term rates) during which the S&P 500 rose more than 3.5% monthly.

Flattening yield curves were detrimental to equity returns. You can see the analysis in our prior perspective, “Trouble with the Curve.” In any case, a steepening yield curve should bode well for equity prices.

Meanwhile, there is ample evidence that inflation is starting to make a comeback. Global producer price indices generally lead the CPI and they have been spiking this year. CPI will likely follow, and not just in the United States.

And finally, although the dollar has rallied over the last couple of weeks in expectation of a late-year rate hike, much of the deflationary effect from a stronger dollar is behind us. The chart below tracks the year-over-year percentage change in the dollar (green line, inverted) versus the year-over-year change in goods inflation (yellow line). The dollar typically leads by four months and as such is lagged in the graph.

As you can see, the shock of a stronger dollar is behind us and it is likely that the price deflation we have experienced will wane. If, over the next four months, the price of goods is flat year over year, which we expect, the core PCE deflator should register above the Fed’s 2% target. The real question is: How will the Fed react when this happens? Will they initiate additional rate hikes? Or will they let the economy “run hot?”

The Federal Reserve did it — raised the target federal funds rate a quarter point, its first boost in nearly a decade. That does not, however, mean that the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage will be a quarter point higher when we all wake up on Thursday. That’s not how mortgage rates work.

Mortgage rates follow the yields on mortgage-backed securities. These bonds track the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury. The bond market is still sorting itself out right now, and yields could end up higher or lower by the end of the week.

The bigger deal for mortgage rates is not the Fed’s headline move, but five paragraphs lower in its statement:

“The Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction, and it anticipates doing so until normalization of the level of the federal funds rate is well under way.”

When U.S. financial markets crashed in 2008, the Federal Reserve began buying billions of dollars worth of agency mortgage-backed securities (loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae). As part of the so-called “taper” in 2013, it gradually stopped using new money to buy MBS but continued to reinvest money it made from the bonds it had into more, newer bonds.

“In other words, all the income they receive from all that MBS they bought is going right back into buying more MBS,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “Over the past few cycles, that’s been $24-$26 billion a month — a staggering amount that accounts for nearly every newly originated MBS.”

At some point, the Fed will have to stop that and let the private market back into mortgage land, but so far that hasn’t happened. Mortgage finance reform is basically on the back-burner until we get a new president and a new Congress. As long as the Fed is the mortgage market’s sugar daddy, rates won’t move much higher.

“Also important is the continued popularity of US Treasury investments around the world, which puts downward pressure on Treasury rates, specifically the 10-year bond rate, which is the benchmark for MBS/mortgage pricing,” said Guy Cecala, CEO of Inside Mortgage Finance. “Both are much more significant than any small hike in the Fed rate.”

Still, consumers are likely going to be freaked out, especially young consumers, if mortgage rates inch up even slightly. That is because apparently they don’t understand just how low rates are. Sixty-seven percent of prospective home buyers surveyed by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a network of real estate brokerages, categorized the level of today’s mortgage rates as “average” or “high.”

The current rate of 4 percent on the 30-year fixed is less than 1 percentage point higher than its record low. Fun fact, in the early 1980s, the rate was around 18 percent.

Fast forward to last May, as much noise was swirling around the Fed’s tapering strategy: 30-year fixed rates ascended a full percentage point in less than 30 days, based only on the conversations of the small screen financial talking heads, and all before the Fed announced anything! Not long afterwards, borrowers started to ask me about hybrids. 3/1, 5/1, 7/1, 10/1, what is the spread between the 30-year fixed, what are the caps, what is the index, how do they work?

Let’s review the mechanics:

Hybrid ARMs as the name implies, have a fixed rate component on the front end of the mortgage term (3 years, 5, 7 or 10) and an adjustable rate component on the back end of the mortgage term, when the interest rate can change/adjust annually. For example; a 5/1 ARM in today’s market could have an interest rate that is fixed for the first 5 years at 3.00% compared to a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.50%. For a $200,000 mortgage, that would save $170/month. After 5 years/60 months, the interest will adjust annually based on an index (1 year LIBOR or 1 year Treasury/CMT), plus a margin of somewhere between 2.25% and 2.75%.

Of course there are caps on the interest rate adjustments. Typically the initial adjustment cap is 2% above the start rate, unless the initial term is 5 years or longer, then the initial caps can be as high as 5%. The periodic or yearly caps are typically 2% above (or below) the existing rate and the lifetime cap is 5% or 6% above the initial fixed rate, depending on the term.

Since birth, hybrid ARMs have maintained space on the entrée side of the menu, for a time even expanding to include interest only variations, which have become scarce now that QM is sheriff. While fixed rates have enjoyed a prolonged period of historical lows, the demand for hybrid ARMs has fallen dramatically.

Enter the current generation of mortgage consumers with a seemingly much lower tolerance for rising interest rate pain than their counterparts of 20 years ago, and demand for hybrid ARMs is seeing traction. Technology has given buyers access to more information than ever before, comparing options for individual circumstances results in savvy mortgage consumer financing choices.

So just why are hybrid ARMs a good fit if 30-year fixed rates are still close to historical lows? Fact is that although most people opt for 30 year mortgages, very few actually stay in the property or the mortgage for that long. People move, families grow, personal economics rise and fall and for lots of other reasons, the lifespan of a mortgage tends to be far less than the 30 years it is amortizing.

The buyer with a five year planning horizon choosing the $200,000 5/1 ARM over the 30-year fixed mentioned earlier, would save $10,200 and enjoy the security of a fixed rate for those five years. If plans change as they so often do (when life shows up), the adjustment caps can protect those savings while plans are adjusted and new mortgage financing strategies are considered. This is the nature of today’s generation of mortgage consumer; they are sophisticated, they have access to more information for more informed consideration and they want what best fits their personal financial universe.

At some point in the future, mortgage interest rates will begin the inevitable climb to higher norms and Hybrid ARMs will have a louder voice in the mortgage financing conversation. As with virtually everything else, organic evolution has led to 3/3 ARMs and 5/5 ARMs and other variations that together offer consumers a menu of custom made mortgage financing options for just about every circumstance. Learning the mechanics of how these loans work and matching planning horizons with adjustment periods can be a useful tool in an overall financial planning portfolio.

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